Selling your own home?

Anyone done it? I have a potential job that will require relocation. Cringed at the 7% commission number from our potential realtor. My brother sold his (quickly) in 2008 and said it couldn't be easier.

If I had lots of time, I'd go the For sale By Owner route without question. In this case, we'd have to be closed by mid-august to be there for the start of school, so while we don't have to vacate immediately, time is of the essence.

TL;DR: Wanna sell my house, but can't stomach the commission number.

We have friends who tried for like 4 months to sell privately with no luck but then sold with an agent within a month of signing with him.

That 5% can be a lot but it does remove a fair bit of the stress they said, especially in their case as they already had bought their new home and needed to sell.

Personally though in our friends case, they had it listed privately a bit overpriced. The price came down a bit when they signed with the agent, perhaps as a "voice of reason".

One thing I've seen that must help (if you get it on MLS) is to be open to accepting buying agents and come up with a max % commission you would hand over. That way you don't just have private buyers.

During the real estate boom years, I sold a house semi-privately. I paid a "listing" broker $500 to get my property listed on MLS and they handled all inquiries from buyer brokers and I paid 2.5% buyer's commission, I saved about $10,000 in broker fees doing it this way...

carlmuir wrote:

We have friends who tried for like 4 months to sell privately with no luck but then sold with an agent within a month of signing with him.

That 5% can be a lot but it does remove a fair bit of the stress they said, especially in their case as they already had bought their new home and needed to sell.

Personally though in our friends case, they had it listed privately a bit overpriced. The price came down a bit when they signed with the agent, perhaps as a "voice of reason".

One thing I've seen that must help (if you get it on MLS) is to be open to accepting buying agents and come up with a max % commission you would hand over. That way you don't just have private buyers.

Locally, the seller pays all 7% which is split between the buyer and seller's agent. For our house, it's pushing $15K just in commissions.

The FSBO website has a $300 package which includes an MLS listing. Most suggest offering a 2.5-3.5% buyers agent commission, which I don't have a problem with. My brother offered 1.5%. So agents were fine with it, some walked away.

We also have friends who have tried FSBO, but most have, like yours, listed it way too high. We have a good idea of what the house is worth and are interviewing other realtors. One that our friends went with charges 5%. He's gotten results from them (they did a FSBO first but with an unreasonable price, then within a couple months of listing with him, it sold, albeit at a MUCH lower price).

I'll pay an agent 2-3% to sell my house (knowing that if I did a FSBO, I'd be out 2-3% or so anyway for the buyers agent). The market is improving here, but we don't have alot of time to mess around between my current job, the potential new job, and trying to relocate, so having an agent to just "handle it" is of value to me.

I am in my 4th house now since me and wife git married 8 years ago. I would only use a realtor in todays housing market. It takes a lot of work to sell a house and few of us have that kind of time. Also the key thing is to find the best realtor, too many people use a friend or relative. This is a major deal, interview them and find a realtor,interview them agressively
My house in SC sold 15 days, yeah it cost me 28000, but there where houses in my old neighborhood that where on the market for over a year and they wanted less money

I've sold many props, so I can relate. There are discount brokers nationwide who list and market for 3%. Foxton's, Assist2Sell, etc. 15 years ago, listing agents had to pay to advertise in many, many print publications. Costly. Now, mostly all listings are viewed online, which costs a fraction of the price.

You CAN negotiate commissions. If they are unwilling to entertain a lower commission, find another who will. You can offer the agent a sliding scale too...if they get a certain price, you'll pay them x%, lower price, x%, etc. Real Estate professionals are very hungry these days.

I would never pay 7%. FSBO is also not advised because you assume all responsibility for the contract documentation. Unless you have a good lawyer prepare the docs, I wouldn't advise that.

Using a discount broker seems to be the best option, unless you are selling a very high value home, in which case using a specialty realtor is advisable because they can often get a price high enough to justify the commission. The original listing price is critical...if it stays on the market for 60-90 days and you need to reduce it, it becomes distressed in the eyes of a potential buyer, thus leading them to think they can offer even less. Arrive at a good price initially. It will likely be a bit less than you want, but it's better than having to reduce the price several times.

Also, before it's listed, perform a minimal curbside refreshment...spend a few bucks and have the flower beds edged and mulched...if there is any mildew on the stucco or siding, get it power washed. Touch up any peeling paint on trim, manicure any shrubbery and mow the lawn every 3-4 days. You never know when someone will do a drive-by. Also at night, keep a lot of lights on to really make it look like a showcase. Low voltage landscape lighting can be a saturday AM DIY job and cost no more than $100, but it makes your place look like the Taj Mahal in the twilight compared to all the neighbors who don't have it. These things are all very inexpensive but offer great visual improvements.

Inside, have a professional shampoo the rugs in high traffic areas. Buyers seeing dirty carpets will be thinking that they will have to spend thousands to replace flooring as soon as they walk in, thus leading them to low ball an offer.

Any other questions, just ask. Hope this helps.

FBD wrote:

I've sold many props, so I can relate. There are discount brokers nationwide who list and market for 3%. Foxton's, Assist2Sell, etc. 15 years ago, listing agents had to pay to advertise in many, many print publications. Costly. Now, mostly all listings are viewed online, which costs a fraction of the price.

You CAN negotiate commissions. If they are unwilling to entertain a lower commission, find another who will. You can offer the agent a sliding scale too...if they get a certain price, you'll pay them x%, lower price, x%, etc. Real Estate professionals are very hungry these days.

I would never pay 7%. FSBO is also not advised because you assume all responsibility for the contract documentation. Unless you have a good lawyer prepare the docs, I wouldn't advise that.

Using a discount broker seems to be the best option, unless you are selling a very high value home, in which case using a specialty realtor is advisable because they can often get a price high enough to justify the commission. The original listing price is critical...if it stays on the market for 60-90 days and you need to reduce it, it becomes distressed in the eyes of a potential buyer, thus leading them to think they can offer even less. Arrive at a good price initially. It will likely be a bit less than you want, but it's better than having to reduce the price several times.

Also, before it's listed, perform a minimal curbside refreshment...spend a few bucks and have the flower beds edged and mulched...if there is any mildew on the stucco or siding, get it power washed. Touch up any peeling paint on trim, manicure any shrubbery and mow the lawn every 3-4 days. You never know when someone will do a drive-by. Also at night, keep a lot of lights on to really make it look like a showcase. Low voltage landscape lighting can be a saturday AM DIY job and cost no more than $100, but it makes your place look like the Taj Mahal in the twilight compared to all the neighbors who don't have it. These things are all very inexpensive but offer great visual improvements.

Inside, have a professional shampoo the rugs in high traffic areas. Buyers seeing dirty carpets will be thinking that they will have to spend thousands to replace flooring as soon as they walk in, thus leading them to low ball an offer.

Any other questions, just ask. Hope this helps.

Great info FBD. The House has a new roof (2010), new windows (2010), new paint (2011), repainted interior (2008-2010), new attic insulation (2009), new gutters and downspouts (2011), new pergo floors in the kitchen (2009), etc.

The cleaning lady is coming Thurs, carpet cleaner on Sat, and we're touching up wood, drywall, replacing drop ceiling tiles that have marks/stains, replacing an outdated light fixture, trimming the bushes on Sat, etc.

I'd very much like to have an agent to make it all happen due to the hassle/time factor, and we're interviewing 4 agents this week. One will do 5% and sold our friends house. The agents whom we bought this house through (and the first ppl we called) are the ones charging 7%. They are great agents and I have no doubt they would do a good job, but an additional 2% on this house is nearly $4K.

Great advice, hadn't thought about the LV lighting!

7% is a very big commission...6% is sort of industry standard, but as I mentioned, 3% is very common.

Good luck and I hope the process goes smoothly for you. The hardest thing when selling is keeping it tidy all the time with kids. You never know when you'll have a showing, so keeping it spotless is always a good thing.

Burn candles, bake cookies prior to showings too...good agents will tell you these things. The smell of fresh baked cookies makes it seem like home to a prospective buyer. Just go to the store and keep a few rolls of the Nestle toll House pre-mixed stuff on hand. It won't go to waste!

If you have a cat, be sure to clean the box daily...the biggest turn off smell in the world is a dirty cat litter box.

FBD wrote:

7% is a very big commission...6% is sort of industry standard, but as I mentioned, 3% is very common.

Good luck and I hope the process goes smoothly for you. The hardest thing when selling is keeping it tidy all the time with kids. You never know when you'll have a showing, so keeping it spotless is always a good thing.

Burn candles, bake cookies prior to showings too...good agents will tell you these things. The smell of fresh baked cookies makes it seem like home to a prospective buyer. Just go to the store and keep a few rolls of the Nestle toll House pre-mixed stuff on hand. It won't go to waste!

If you have a cat, be sure to clean the box daily...the biggest turn off smell in the world is a dirty cat litter box.

All buy 1-2 agents were 5.5-6% (which includes the cut for the buyer's agent). One of the brokers offered to provide broker metrics on her and the other agents we were speaking with. She's doing 3-4 times the volume of her nearest competitor, has the second highest actual to listed price percentage., and overall we feel she'd be the most agressive.

No cat here, but a small dog which is easy to cage when buyer are here. We're cleaning/tidying, updating an entry chandelier that was all brass and original, and otherwise getting it ready for sale. Most agents have said that we've got the curb appeal, sq footage, features, and location that will be desirable. I think after this weekend of yard sprucing and inside cleaning, we'll be ready to put it on market next week.

mmmmmm cookies.